Report on sentence for Thai taxi driver who killed American with a machete

[daeng1212]

The Thai taxi driver who killed the American Troy Pilkington with a machete received a sentence of 10 years in prison.

 

I’ve sometimes wondered what sentence was given to the taxi driver who killed Troy.  Yesterday I decided to try to find out.  My Google searches for Troy and the name of the taxi driver (both in English and Thai) turned up nothing other than the news of the murder.  I found a Bangkok Post article about it which mentioned the name of Troy’s sister.  I did a Google search for her and found someone on Facebook who I thought might be her, so I sent a message asking if she was Troy’s sister and if she knew what sentence the taxi driver received.  I apologized if my question brought back painful memories and told her I’d understand if she didn’t reply.  She sent a reply telling me that the driver was sentenced to 10 years in prison.  We had a nice conversation about a lot of things. 

 

Some of her comments were –

I try not to think about his last moments. I wish the lady that helped him spoke English – (she) owned a bridal shop on the side walkway where it happened. She ran to my brother and he said a few things. She also got the pink taxis number. That's how he was caught…He (Troy) didn't deserve what happened by the lying taxi driver who ran away

 

When I was doing my search, I came across a post by a thaivisa member who asked if anyone knew what sentence the taxi driver received, so I figured some of the thaivisa members would be interested in knowing this.

[Liverpudlian]

Yep i remember that event and kudos to you for your respectful research.

[KiChakayan]

How can it be only 10 years? Oohhh I forgot; he was "only" a Farang.

R.I.P Troy.

[baansgr]

No matter how many lost bags are returned, wont make up for this over 50 Baht

[Kieran00001]

2 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

How can it be only 10 years? Oohhh I forgot; he was "only" a Farang.

R.I.P Troy.

 

Do you know the whole story?  He refused to pay his 51 baht taxi fare which he claimed was the result of a rigged meter and then he threw a cup of coffee over the driver, the driver then got out the taxi in a rage and struck him with a sword.

[Kieran00001]

3 minutes ago, baansgr said:

No matter how many lost bags are returned, wont make up for this over 50 Baht

 

The 50 baht or the hot coffee thrown in his face?

[daeng1212]

11 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

Do you know the whole story?  He refused to pay his 51 baht taxi fare which he claimed was the result of a rigged meter and then he threw a cup of coffee over the driver, the driver then got out the taxi in a rage and struck him with a sword.

The claim that Troy threw a cup of coffee on the taxi driver was just the claim of the taxi driver, and disputed by those who knew  Troy.  Since Troy was dead, he couldn't tell what really happened.  His sister was reported in the Bangkok Post article as saying that he didn't drink coffee at night.  I wouldn't put much faith in what the taxi driver said.  Who knows what really happened? Maybe the taxi driver demanded 500 baht for the trip and that set off the argument.

Edited March 21, 2019 by daeng1212

[simon43]

The Thai taxi driver who killed the American Troy Pilkington with a machete received a sentence of 10 years in prison.

 

I don't know the date that his jail term started, but it would be interesting to check if he is still in prison...

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Let's hope the guy involved here actually serves his 10 year sentence for a murder. But this place being what it is, he probably won't....

 

 

[Kieran00001]

44 minutes ago, daeng1212 said:

The claim that Troy threw a cup of coffee on the taxi driver was just the claim of the taxi driver, and disputed by those who knew  Troy.  Since Troy was dead, he couldn't tell what really happened.  His sister was reported in the Bangkok Post article as saying that he didn't drink coffee at night.  I wouldn't put much faith in what the taxi driver said.  Who knows what really happened? Maybe the taxi driver demanded 500 baht for the trip and that set off the argument.

 

Have you seen the CCTV clip with Troy chasing the taxi driver around and punching him?  Hardly makes him look the innocent party.

[wreckingcountry]

10 years ? Pathetic ! Ah Thai law


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[daeng1212]

32 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

Have you seen the CCTV clip with Troy chasing the taxi driver around and punching him?  Hardly makes him look the innocent party.

Maybe.  I agree it does look like Troy is going after the taxi driver, but the clip was so short, it didn't really show who attacked who first.  Some people, when they're attacked, fight back rather than run away.  

[baansgr]

2 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

The 50 baht or the hot coffee thrown in his face?

So that justifies killing someone, its premeditated murder, the driver had a samurai sword on board.....what reason is there to carry such an article in your daily business as a cabby......none, unless you are going to use it to hurt someone.

[baansgr]

2 hours ago, KiChakayan said:

How can it be only 10 years? Oohhh I forgot; he was "only" a Farang.

R.I.P Troy.

Problem is, some foreigners do the same and get away lightly.....thats the judicial/corrupt system here

[Pharoticus]

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

So that justifies killing someone, its premeditated murder, the driver had a samurai sword on board.....what reason is there to carry such an article in your daily business as a cabby......none, unless you are going to use it to hurt someone.

It was NOT a samurai sword.

[ravip]

Nothing will justify the killing of another human being, whatever the circumstances are.

But, humans should behave like humans to avoid triggering inhuman actions - no matter what the skin colour is.

The skin colour seems to trigger many such inhuman actions, due to the DNA making some feel supreme.

RIP Troy Pilkington.

[Nyezhov]

2 hours ago, wreckingcountry said:

10 years ? Pathetic ! Ah Thai law


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Sure unless it was a farang that got 10 for a killing, then Thai law would be great

[watcharacters]

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

So that justifies killing someone, its premeditated murder, the driver had a samurai sword on board.....what reason is there to carry such an article in your daily business as a cabby......none, unless you are going to use it to hurt someone.

 

I think taxis are often victims of a robbery.     Maybe that's the reason " the driver had a samurai sword on board".

 

 

[KiChakayan]

15 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

Do you know the whole story?  He refused to pay his 51 baht taxi fare which he claimed was the result of a rigged meter and then he threw a cup of coffee over the driver, the driver then got out the taxi in a rage and struck him with a sword.

Don't need to know it, whatever the happened before the fight, carrying a lethal weapon an using it to kill is aggravated murder, hence 20 years in the slammer. If you can't control your nerves to don't tool up. Now, we all now that most Thai drivers deserve at least 3 years for carrying, if this had been enforced Troy would still be with us.

[Kieran00001]

1 hour ago, KiChakayan said:

Don't need to know it, whatever the happened before the fight, carrying a lethal weapon an using it to kill is aggravated murder, hence 20 years in the slammer. If you can't control your nerves to don't tool up. Now, we all now that most Thai drivers deserve at least 3 years for carrying, if this had been enforced Troy would still be with us.

 

15% of all Thai adults have a license to carry a gun, open carry is illegal, concealed carry is allowed with a permit, carrying a concealed weapon with a permit and then using it in self defense is not aggravated murder.

 

[LomSak27]

17 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

17 hours ago, KiChakayan said:

How can it be only 10 years? Oohhh I forgot; he was "only" a Farang.

R.I.P Troy.

 

Do you know the whole story?  He refused to pay his 51 baht taxi fare which he claimed was the result of a rigged meter and then he threw a cup of coffee over the driver, the driver then got out the taxi in a rage and struck him with a sword.

Ah, so it was the passenger's fault he did not pay the rigged meter fee. And because of this getting killed was his own fault too.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. ????

Edited March 22, 2019 by LomSak27

[Kieran00001]

15 hours ago, daeng1212 said:

Maybe.  I agree it does look like Troy is going after the taxi driver, but the clip was so short, it didn't really show who attacked who first.  Some people, when they're attacked, fight back rather than run away.  

 

His sister was quoted as having said,  "he was a family man, he didn't drink and was a fun person. The only thing he didn't like was people trying to cheat him which he wouldn't tolerate in any manner"

 

The taxi driver said he only got the machete out to threaten him but then Troy rushed him and he struck him.

[Kieran00001]

14 minutes ago, LomSak27 said:

Ah, so it was the passenger's fault he did not pay the rigged meter fee. And because of this getting killed was his own fault too.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. ????

 

The courts declared that the meter was not rigged, think again.

[kkerry]

19 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

Do you know the whole story?  He refused to pay his 51 baht taxi fare which he claimed was the result of a rigged meter and then he threw a cup of coffee over the driver, the driver then got out the taxi in a rage and struck him with a sword.

The story as I recall was not that the meter was rigged but that the driver took him the long way round. In that part of Bangkok the long way round could also have been the faster way due to traffic. At the end of the day, no matter the reason, Troy was killed over a fare dispute worth less than $2... think about it...

 

I hate getting ripped off as much as the next guy but whenever I have friends visiting Thailand for the first time I still mention this case to explain why you just pay up and walk away. Most local taxi drivers where I live have a weapon such as a knife or baseball bat in the cab for self-defense in case of robbery. Getting in any dispute over two dollars in Thailand just isn't worth it imo. Do the smart thing, walk away, get on with your day.

Edited March 22, 2019 by kkerry

[LomSak27]

43 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

58 minutes ago, LomSak27 said:

Ah, so it was the passenger's fault he did not pay the rigged meter fee. And because of this getting killed was his own fault too.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. ????

 

The courts declared that the meter was not rigged, think again.

Review post #23. IT SHOULD BE NOTED, all the other things, coffee, screaming, etc. We reported by Mr Cherdchai. The only other person who would know if this was true or not, is dead, killed by this selfsame Mr Cherdchai.

 

BTW, Charles Manson made some very damming accusations about Sharon Tate, and why he was forced to kill her while defending himself. PM me if you want details  

[Kieran00001]

43 minutes ago, kkerry said:

The story as I recall was not that the meter was rigged but that the driver took him the long way round. In that part of Bangkok the long way round could also have been the faster way due to traffic. At the end of the day, no matter the reason, Troy was killed over a fare dispute worth less than $2... think about it...

 

I hate getting ripped off as much as the next guy but whenever I have friends visiting Thailand for the first time I still mention this case to explain why you just pay up and walk away. Most local taxi drivers where I live have a weapon such as a knife or baseball bat in the cab for self-defense in case of robbery. Getting in any dispute over two dollars in Thailand just isn't worth it imo. Do the smart thing, walk away, get on with your day.

 

The long way round?  Where did you get that from?  I read that they only made it about 100m and when stuck in traffic he got out and refused to pay the 51 baht.

[daeng1212]

2 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

His sister was quoted as having said,  "he was a family man, he didn't drink and was a fun person. The only thing he didn't like was people trying to cheat him which he wouldn't tolerate in any manner"

 

The taxi driver said he only got the machete out to threaten him but then Troy rushed him and he struck him.

Your point about Troy not tolerating cheating is valid.  However, as I said before, I have my doubts about what the taxi driver said was all true.  It seems you have more information on this incident that I've been able to find - what I've quoted from you above, as well as your comments that the courts declared that the meter was not rigged, and that they only made it about 100m and when stuck in traffic Troy got out and refused to pay the 51 baht.  Could you provide a link to where you got this additional information, or say where you read it?  I'd be interested in reading it.  If the cops did their job (which is probably not very likely), they should've found eyewitnesses to what happened.

[Briggsy]

Try putting in a Freedom of Information request to the Justice Ministry.

 

 

[kkerry]

59 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

The long way round?  Where did you get that from?  I read that they only made it about 100m and when stuck in traffic he got out and refused to pay the 51 baht.

That is my recollection from some reports at the time. If it is like you say and he refused to pay simply because he was stuck in traffic, it was even more of a waste of a life. You can't get in a taxi and later get out without paying because of a traffic jam, regardless of what you think of the route chosen by the driver.

 

The driver reacted with deadly force but read the news here and every day there are reports of Thai people having a brain fade and killing others over some perceived sleight, even police or army who you would think should have some personal discipline, which goes back to my point of walking away from minor disputes where possible as things can go pear shaped here with next to no warning.

[KiChakayan]

10 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

15% of all Thai adults have a license to carry a gun, open carry is illegal, concealed carry is allowed with a permit, carrying a concealed weapon with a permit and then using it in self defense is not aggravated murder.

Thanks for clarifying. So 15% of Thai adults are legal murderers. They probably serve their (dysfunctional) country when eliminating Farang thrash.

Edited March 22, 2019 by KiChakayan